Improving competitiveness

Recently, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Vietnam Industry Agency (VIA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade launched Vietnam’s first-ever digital transformation review toolkit for manufacturing and supporting industries.

Vietnam is step by step formulating policies suitable to digital transformation tendency in businesses

Vietnam is step by step formulating policies suitable to digital transformation tendency in businesses, while also encouraging different sectors and businesses to implement digital transformation.

Amid the slow adoption of digital transformation by small- and medium-sized enterprises constrained by investment costs and knowledge gaps, this practical toolkit will allow enterprises to effectively implement digital solutions based on their capabilities and resources.

Particularly, digital transformation in the manufacturing industry needs further efforts, encouragement and interest from organizations, enterprises. Therefore, the event is a foundation for the MoIT and related agencies to further promote digital transformation for domestic suppliers as they join global value chains.

The toolkit will allow enterprises to effectively implement digital solutions based on their capabilities and resources

Seven dimensions of digital transformation

Jointly developed by IFC and the VIA as part of the digital transformation pilot program, the toolkit incorporates international and regional best practices across seven dimensions of digital transformation, including strategy and leadership; people and culture; customers; operations; production; digital technology and security; and sustainability and inclusion, to help manufacturing firms develop tailored plans of action to address manufacturing ‘pain points’ and competitiveness constraints.

Thomas Jacobs, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, said the toolkit represents an important step for Vietnam’s manufacturing sector on its journey towards digital transformation with an increased focus on sustainability, which is increasingly important to further integrate with global value chains and improve FDI linkages.

This toolkit is also unique in Vietnam that integrates assessing enterprises’ digitization of their green transition and realizing environmentally friendly business practices. Through adopting digital transformation towards sustainability, suppliers can achieve efficient processes, increase decarbonization and become compliant with environment, social and governance (ESG) requirements of governments and customers.

According to Truong Thi Chi Binh - Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for Supporting Industries, this toolkit is very useful for businesses, especially those in the fields of processing and manufacturing, because the production process of these enterprises is complex and requires much higher production optimization. Therefore, the toolkit will help enterprises in the industry reconsider not only their digital transformation capabilities but also their production optimization.